Upright-piano action.



M. S. THOMAS.

UPRIGHT PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2a. 1916.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

HHIIIHHHHHHIII I! MERTON S. THOMAS, 013 NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK.

UPRIGHT-PIANO ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed November 23, 1916. Serial No. 132,921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MERTON S. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New Rochelle, in the county of WVestchester and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inUpright-Piano Actions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved upright piano action, and moreparticularly to novel means for mounting the bridle strap on the bumper.Heretofore, this strap was generally secured to the bumper by tacking orgluing its upper end to the hammer butt, which rendered it quitedifficult to replace a torn strap and necessitated a partial dismantlingof the action for the purpose of gaining access to the point ofattachment. By my invention this difficulty is obviated, Whilefurthermore, the strength of the connection between bumper and strap isconsiderably increased.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side View partly in section of the principal parts of anupright piano action embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a perspective view of the bumper and bridle straf;

Fig. 3, a si e view partly in section of part of a piano action having amodified form of bumper head, and

Fig. i, a detail of the bridle strap.

The action comprises a wippen 1, a jack 2, engaging the hammer butt 3,and a hammer spring 4. From the hammer butt, there extends forwardly,the bumper shank 5, carrying the bumper head 6, which is adapted to beengaged by the back check 7 all as usual.

The bridle strap 8 is provided near its upper end with a longitudinalslit or eye 9, which is of such a .length that the head 6 may be passedfreely through the same. Thus in effecting the connection between thestrap and bumper, head 6 is slipped through slit 9 and the lower or freeend of the strap is with the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, passedthrough an aperture 10 of the bumper head and is then attached to thebridle hook 11. With the construction shown in Fig. 3, in which thebumper head is imperforate, the over head 6, but is then directlyconnecte hook 11.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for strap is likewise slipped Withboth embodiments, the bumper shank 5 will be accommodated within theupper end of slit 9 so as to be encompassed by the strap, while theupper end of the strap, will come to lie closely against the rear faceof head 6, to which it may be secured by an adhesive. This adhesivehowever, simply serves to maintain the upper end of the strap inposition, and not to take up the strain or pull to which the strap issubjected when in use, such function being entirely taken up by thesolid portion of the strap located above the slit. In this way, thedurability of the connection is augmented, while furthermore, byconnecting the strap to the bumper head instead of to the hammer butt,the leverage of the strap, acting on the pivot 12 of. the hammer isincreased to a desirable extent. So also as the bumper shank normallyassumes an inclined position, the strap will have a tendency even ifloose, to slide into contact with the rear face of the bumper head, sothat the strap will maintain its sea It will be seen that by theconstruction described, the application of the strap to the action isgreatly facilitated, as the bumper head is readily accessible and thedifficult operation of tacking or gluing the strap to the hammer butt isdispensed with. Finally as the straps are all of equal length, and theirslits may all be formed at exactly the same points, by dies,irregularities in mounting the straps are not liable to occur.

I claim:

1. An upright piano action comprising a hammer butt, a bumper shankprojecting therefrom, a bumper head carried by the bumper shank, and abridle strap havin a longitudinal slit near its upper end, sa'i slitencompassing the bumper shank and being adapted to be passed over thebumper head.

2. An upright piano action comprising a. hammer butt, a bumper shankprojecting therefrom, a bumper head carried by the bumper shank, and abridle strap having a slitted upper end that encompasses the bumpershank and engages the rear face of the bumper head, said slitted upperend being adapted to be passed over said head.

MERTON S. THOMAS.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent, Wuhington, D.0.

